Electronic and/or optoelectronic devices may be fabricated on a substrate; and, under certain conditions, it may be desirable to separate the devices from the substrate subsequent to fabrication thereof. As an illustrative, non-exclusive example, it may be desirable to decrease an overall thickness and/or weight of the devices through removal of the substrate. As another illustrative, non-exclusive example, certain photovoltaic cells may be fabricated in such a manner that at least a portion of the substrate must be separated from the photovoltaic cells prior to operation thereof. This especially may be true with inverted photovoltaic cells, which may be designed to receive light from a side of the inverted photovoltaic cell that is in contact with the substrate during fabrication of the inverted photovoltaic cell. Under these conditions, separation of the photovoltaic cells from the substrate may permit additional light to contact the photovoltaic cell, thereby enabling operation and/or increasing an operational efficiency of the photovoltaic cell.
Historically, etching operations have been utilized to separate the devices from the substrate. These etching operations may utilize highly corrosive chemical solutions and rely upon a difference in etch rate, or etch selectivity, between two or more components to selectively separate the devices from the substrate. While such an approach may be effective at removing the devices from the substrate, it may be difficult to fabricate the devices with a desired degree of etch selectivity. Additionally or alternatively, a rate at which the separation occurs may be prohibitively slow, increasing an overall time needed to fabricate the devices and separate them from the substrate. Furthermore, the etch chemistries utilized to separate the devices from the substrate may be highly corrosive, caustic, acidic, and/or may not be environmentally friendly. Thus, there exists a need for improved systems and methods for separating components of a multilayer stack of electronic components.